Niners Hold Up Same-Sex Marriage in California

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday put a hold on same-sex marriages in California, overruling a federal district judge who had earlier ruled unconstitutional Prop. 8 which restricts marriage to a man and a woman.

But the appellate court put same-sex marriage on a fast track, setting a Nov. 1 deadline for briefs and saying it will hear the case during the week of Dec. 6.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker threw out Prop. 8, which California voters passed by a 52-48 margin in 2008.

Ruling that proposition supporters failed to demonstrate that they would suffer harm, Walker said last week that same-sex marriages could be celebrated in the nation’s largest state starting Thursday.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit put such marriages on hold Monday. Another three-judge panel will hear the case in December.

“We are very gratified that the Ninth Circuit has recognized the important and pressing nature of this case and the need to resolve it as quickly as possible by issuing this extremely expedited briefing schedule,” said Theodore Olson, attorney for the couples challenging Prop. 8.

Olson, U.S. Solicitor General in the Bush administration, added: “As Judge Walker found, Proposition 8 harms gay and lesbian citizens each day it remains on the books.”

Such California politicians as Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown support Walker’s ruling, and have said same-sex couples should be allowed to wed.

A CNN poll, released last week, found for the first time a majority of Americans believe that gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The Washington Poll, in this state, has shown rising (but not majority) support for same-sex marriage, with less than a quarter of the state’s voters opposing any legal recognition of gay and lesbian unions.

Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia currently permit gay and lesbian couples to marry.

The California State Supreme Court ruled that 18,000 same-sex couples, married in California before Prop. 8 took effect, remain legally wed.

Washington voters last November upheld the Legislature’s enactment of rights for same-sex couples, dubbed “everything but marriage.”